Tom Girardi testifies in fraud trial despite dementia claims, denies stealing millions

Tom Girardi took the stand for his cross-examination Thursday in his long-awaited criminal fraud trial — despite being diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia three years ago.

The former head of the now-defunct Girardi & Keese law firm — who is being sued for allegedly embezzling $15 million from his clients from 2010 to 2020 — emphatically denied any wrongdoing.

“The last thing I would do would be to take someone’s money,” Girardi said while on the stand at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, per Courthouse News Service. “I wouldn’t think of it.”

He reportedly also repeated several times during his testimony that he never gave himself a salary.

Tom Girardi, seen here outside of a courthouse in Los Angeles Friday, testified in his fraud trial. Hillel Aron / Courthouse News

The disbarred attorney was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in 2021. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

When asked about the missing settlement funds in the case of Joe Ruigomez, a young man who was badly burned due to a gas line, Girardi claimed he never lied about how much his former client was owed.

“I wouldn’t have said that,” the disbarred attorney said when asked why he told Ruigomez that his settlement was for $5 million instead of $53 million. “I didn’t intentionally ever tell anyone the wrong thing.”

Girardi reportedly then explained that he was told Ruigomez allegedly had a “really bad drug problem” and claimed the judge on the young man’s case was “very strict to say, you gotta space the money out.”

According to Courthouse News Service, evidence from the Internal Revenue Service showed that money from Ruigomez was “almost immediately” spent on paying back Girardi’s old clients.

The former lawyer denied the claim, though, testifying, “I wasn’t about to go, quote, stealing money.”

Girardi is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from his ex-client’s settlement funds. Getty Images

“I didn’t intentionally ever tell anyone the wrong thing,” he reportedly said on the stand. Getty Images for Annenberg Space

Girardi also blamed his ex-client’s alleged mismanagement of funds on his former CFO Chris Kamon.

“He stole a lot of money,” the estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne reportedly testified. “Obviously we didn’t know about it.”

He later said in the hearing, per the report, “I don’t know very much. But he was very clever in stealing millions of dollars.”

Although Girardi was found competent to stand trial in January, he reportedly demonstrated some signs of memory loss on Thursday.

Girardi reportedly displayed some memory loss during his testimony. Shutterstock

Girardi has been residing in a senior living facility since the fall of 2021. DIGGZY/JESAL/Shutterstock

When asked if he recalled Ruigomez’s testimony, for which he had been present, he said, “No.”

Girardi’s lawyer, Samuel Cross, then asked him about his former longtime assistant, Shirleen Fujimoto, testifying earlier in the week, and he reportedly answered, “No, I didn’t see that.”

Then, when asked if his firm is still open, Girardi reportedly replied, “Yes,” even though it closed in 2021.

And finally, when Cross asked his client to say his name, he answered, “I don’t know. Bad? Mean? Terrible? It’s one of those.”

Girardi was a high-powered lawyer who worked on cases like Erin Brockovich’s lawsuit. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

On the stand, he reportedly said he did not recall who had testified earlier in the week — despite being present. Shutterstock

Prosecutors first pursued legal action against Girardi in December 2020, around the time that he was hospitalized for a “serious illness.”

His brother, Robert Girardi, then claimed the following January that the disgraced lawyer was suffering from short-term memory loss.

Robert was then named temporary conservator of Tom, and the former attorney has been living at a senior living facility since the fall of 2021 due to claims he can’t care for himself.

Jayne — who filed for divorce from Tom in November 2021 — has backed the claims that her ex suffers from mental decline.

Girardi was previously married to Erika Jayne. Bravo

The Bravo star has claimed that she has witnessed her estranged husband dealing with memory issues. theprettymess/Instagram

The “RHOBH” star, 53, exclusively told Page Six in May 2022, “I take his call and it’s never more than 10 seconds … And sometimes he thinks I’m someone else … so there’s a lot of that.”

Lawyers for both sides of Tom’s fraud case are reportedly set to make closing statements on Monday.

Tom has been charged with four counts of fraud and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each.